Why should the "Garuda" bootloader be used?
The bootloader may be unable to load the system if the “Garuda” UEFI bootloader is not used to start Garuda Linux, when certain updates to “grub” are applied.
Don’t use Grub? There is a bypass to this warning below.
Basics/Preamble
Section titled “Basics/Preamble”The bootloader is the very first step to loading any operating system that is also modifiable by said operating system. In a way: The bootloader is the gateway between the BIOS and the operating system.
The problem
Section titled “The problem”Garuda Linux is a rolling release distribution, meaning the very latest and greatest packages are available to users continuously. There are no “releases” in the traditional sense where newer packages will be released all at once with the need to reinstall or perform extensive upgrade procedures.
There is one major problem with this approach when it comes to bootloaders: Bootloaders need to stay synchronized with the operating system, otherwise they may be incapable of booting the system. In this case, the Grub bootloader must stay synchronized with the Grub version installed on the operating system.
Has this ever caused issues?
Section titled “Has this ever caused issues?”Yes! This has happened before and caused issues. And 2025-09-06 as well (but Garuda Linux was unaffected).
The solution
Section titled “The solution”The first time this happened, the Garuda Linux developers developed a countermeasure to stop this from happening again: The bootloader is automatically updated when an update to the Grub package is detected on the operating system. This worked great!
Overwriting every bootloader is obviously not an option, so a limit had to be set: Only the “Garuda” bootloader will be updated automatically.
What is this “Garuda” bootloader?
Section titled “What is this “Garuda” bootloader?”The “Garuda” bootloader is simply the default bootloader that is installed when the Garuda Linux installer runs. Most commonly (and by default), this is Grub. It is automatically updated by the system to prevent the bootloader and the operating system from getting out of sync.
Switching to the “Garuda” bootloader
Section titled “Switching to the “Garuda” bootloader”Most commonly, this can be done from the terminal while booted into Garuda Linux:
sudo grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=GarudaThis will update the UEFI NVRAM and change the boot order to start Garuda Linux by default. After a system restart, the warning message should disappear from garuda-health.
The Exception
Section titled “The Exception”In some cases, the boot priority cannot be changed from inside the operating system. In those cases, the change will need to be done from the UEFI setup (commonly called the BIOS). This is different for every device. The device manual may assist.
The Exception to the Exception
Section titled “The Exception to the Exception”In the worst case scenario, it is not possible to change the boot priorities. In those cases, there is no other option than to bypass the warning.
Bypass warning
Section titled “Bypass warning”Create the bypass file:
sudo touch /etc/garuda/garuda-health/bypass-wrong-bootloader-checkThe check should now come back clear.